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B&NES Customer Charter

Policy

B&NES Customer Charter

Information about our new Customer Charter.

  • Published date: 20 July 2023
  • Last updated: 16 October 2024

Details

We have developed our Customer Charter to help explain our expectations for how we propose to deliver the best customer experience, whilst also explaining how our customers can help us to achieve this.

Included within our Customer Charter is the 'Respect our colleagues' statement, which clarifies our stance on unreasonable customer behaviour, and is based on our new Violent, Threatening, Aggressive and Challenging Behaviour policy launched internally earlier this year.

What we will do

  • Make it easy for you to access our services, increasing what you can do online and ensure there are alternative routes for those who cannot use digital options
  • Make sure we take into account any accessibility needs
  • Treat you equitably and courteously, respect your privacy and the confidentiality of any information you give us
  • Be clear about what we can or cannot do, including the eligibility requirements for some services
  • Do as much as we can to resolve your query at first contact, and if we can't, we'll make sure you know what will happen next and when
  • Listen and learn from your feedback to improve what we do
  • Monitor our performance against our Customer Service standards

How you can help

We want to get you the right help as quickly as we can. You can help us to do this, by:

  • Accessing our services online, if you can
  • Telling us what your enquiry is about, as clearly and briefly as possible
  • Providing us with all the information we need to help you
  • Asking us to explain anything that you're not sure of

In order to help us deliver the best service that we can, please be considerate to our staff and other customers. We would appreciate it if you could let us know when you have received good service, or when things have gone wrong so we can work out how to improve.

Please let us know of any changes that will be relevant to the services we provide to you (a change of address, for example) and if you have an appointment with one of our services, please be punctual, or let us know if you're unable to attend.

Respect our colleagues

We know that things go wrong sometimes, and we respect your right to feed back to us. We have a duty of care to all our colleagues, and we won't accept any behaviour that is hurtful, hateful, or abusive towards our staff or customers.

Unreasonable behaviours

Aggressive, violent, threatening, challenging or abusive behaviour that could be physically or emotionally harmful, hateful, discriminative, negative or obstructive towards our employees and other service users.

Unreasonable behaviour that impacts on our ability to carry out work

This means behaviour that starts to impact excessively on the work or wellbeing of our colleagues, takes up an excessive amount of time, or when dealing with the matter disadvantages other customers or service users.

Unreasonable levels of contact that impact our ability to deliver services

This includes making excessive levels of contact that can be considered as harassment.

Hate crime or hate incidents

Hate crime is any unwanted behaviour which is intended to or creates the effect of violating a person's dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that person. It can be motivated by prejudice on the basis of race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, sex, gender reassignment or other grounds.

We will not accept these kinds of behaviour over any of our contact channels.

Our response

We will ask you to stop so we can explain why your behaviour is unacceptable. If you continue to behave in a challenging way, we will end the conversation and request that you leave or finish the call. We may also blocked you on our social media accounts, or we may decide not to answer your correspondence.

If repeat behaviour occurs, we have the right to exclude you from our premises or limit your contact with us until the issue is resolved, in order to protect our colleagues and other customers. If unwelcome behaviour continues, we will involve our security and legal teams, as well as the police, to manage the incident.

Giving feedback

If you would like to give us feedback on how your issue was handled, you can use our Have your say page.

Visit the Have your say page

Documents

Last updated 16 October 2024

Voicebox Residents Survey 2022

Corporate Report

Voicebox Residents Survey 2022

Voicebox is a resident survey aimed at obtaining residents’ views on a range of topics to help shape and improve local services. This report provides the results for Voicebox 31 (2022).

  • Published date: 12 July 2023
  • Last updated: 12 July 2023

Documents

Last updated 12 July 2023

HMO legislation, standards, guidance, required documents and checklists

Terms and conditions

HMO legislation, standards, guidance, required documents and checklists

Use this page to view the documents you need if you own and operate a HMO. And to view the conditions and standards that apply to all houses in multiple occupation (HMOs).

  • Published date: 12 June 2023
  • Last updated: 12 August 2025

Details

This page provides guidance documents about safety standards, housing conditions, and checklists to help you meet your legal duties. The documents include national legislation for HMOs and the conditions for operating HMOs in Bath and North East Somerset.

What are Houses in Multiple Occupation?

Houses in Multiple Occupation are defined in Section 254 of the Housing Act 2004 as follows:

  • A house occupied by 3 or more persons forming more than one household who share a basic amenity such as a bathroom, toilet or cooking facilities. This is called ‘the standard test’.
  • A flat occupied by persons forming more than one household who share a basic amenity (all of which are within the flat) e.g. a bathroom, toilet or cooking facilities. This is called ‘the self-contained flat test’
  • A building that has been converted into flats but not all of the flats are fully self-contained flats. There may not necessarily be sharing of amenities. This is called ‘the converted building test’

Mandatory Licensable HMO

The property is a Mandatory Licensable HMO if both of the following apply:

  • At least 5 people occupy the property who form more than 1 household, and;
  • they share a toilet, bathroom or kitchen facilities with other people. 

Read the legislation on houses in multiple occupation.

Buildings that are not HMOs

A summary from Schedule 14 of the Housing Act 2004

Some buildings are not HMOs for the purpose of the Housing Act 2004, even if they meet the requirements of the HMO definition.

These buildings are:

  • Those under the management or control of a local housing authority, a registered social landlord or certain other public bodies those regulated under other enactments, such as care homes, children homes and bail hostels
  • Those occupied solely or mainly by students studying a full time course of further and higher education at a specified educational establishment which manages the building in question, and the specified educational establishment is subject to an approved code of practice and the building in question is subject to that code
  • Those that are occupied for the purpose of a religious community whose main occupation is prayer, contemplation, education, or the relief of suffering.
  • This exemption does not apply to a converted block of flats within the meaning of Section 257 of the 2004 Act occupied by such a community
  • Those that are occupied by a freeholder or long leaseholder and their household and any other persons not forming part of the household and not exceeding two in number (e.g. owner occupiers household and one or two lodgers) 
  • This does not apply to section 257 HMOs; those that are occupied by only two persons each of whom form a single household e.g. a flat share of no more than two persons.

Legislation and Standards

Housing Act 2004

Management Regulations for HMOs (with shared facilities)

Management Regulations for HMOs converted into self-contained flats

Mandatory Conditions of HMO Licences

HMO Licensing Standards

Standard Licensing Conditions

West of England Rental Standards

Guidance

HMO conditions for gardening, recycling and rubbish

LACoRS national fire safety guidance

Required documents

Fire risk assessment 

Undertaking of good practice

Electrical equipment checklist

Furniture and furnishing declaration

Checklists and notices

New HMO checklist

Regular HMO inspection checklist

Legionella checklist

Fire alarm notice

HMO Management, Recycling and Rubbish Notice

Documents

Last updated 12 August 2025

Climate Emergency Action Plan

Strategy

Climate Emergency Action Plan

These documents provide an update on the priority actions the council is taking to tackle the climate & ecological emergencies.

  • Published date: 16 May 2023
  • Last updated: 15 April 2026

Details

It contains key actions categorised by strategic priority, noting progress and next steps, organised by the three priority areas for action:

  • Decarbonising Buildings: making energy efficiency improvement of the majority of existing buildings and zero-carbon new builds
  • Decarbonising Transport: a major shift to mass transport, walking and cycling to reduce transport emissions
  • A rapid and large-scale increase in Local Renewable Energy Generation

The final section lists the Council's strategies and policies that are supporting delivery of the strategic priorities.

This document is updated annually.

Documents

Last updated 15 April 2026

Economic Strategy Evidence Base

Corporate Report

Economic Strategy Evidence Base

Technical support document for core B&NES policy

  • Published date: 03 May 2023
  • Last updated: 03 May 2023

Details

This document contains detailed analysis of the following areas, which underpin our development of an update to our Economic Strategy:

  • Business demography
  • Employment Floorspace Losses
  • Economic Forecasts and Scenarios

Documents

Last updated 03 May 2023

Bath and North East Somerset Ward Profiles

Dataset

Bath and North East Somerset Ward Profiles

The ward profiles provide a summary of the Bath and North East Somerset population across a range of topics. The interactive dashboard allows for comparison of data across the 33 wards.

  • Published date: 02 May 2023
  • Last updated: 22 November 2023

Details

Tell us what you think of the Strategic Evidence Base

Documents

Last updated 22 November 2023

Notice of Countermanding Poll

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the election of councillors to the Paulton ward of Bath & North East Somerset Council is hereby countermanded in accordance with Rule 55 of the Local Elections (Principal Areas) (England and Wales) Rules 2006, due to the death of a candidate in the election named above.

The Returning Officer will order a new election to be held for this ward, the date being within 35 days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays) from the date originally fixed as the day of election for the countermanded poll.

Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy

Strategy

Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy

The Health and Wellbeing Board’s Health and Wellbeing Strategy is a seven year plan setting out how we aim to put in place the best conditions for people of all ages to live healthy and fulfilling lives.

  • Published date: 24 April 2023
  • Last updated: 20 November 2025

Details

We worked with local people and organisations, and used our strategic evidence base, to understand what is important to keep people healthy and well in our area. You can read more about how we did this and what we found out in our intelligence and engagement report.

Producing a Health and Wellbeing Strategy is a statutory requirement of Health and Wellbeing Boards. The Health and Wellbeing Board is a formal committee of the local authority to promote greater partnerships between:

  • B&NES Council
  • B&NES, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board
  • Healthwatch B&NES
  • Royal United Hospital
  • University of Bath
  • Bath Spa University
  • Bath College
  • Avon and Somerset Police
  • 3SG
  • Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership (AWP)
  • Curo
  • Avon Fire and Rescue

Members of the public are welcome to attend the Health and Wellbeing Board meetings and seating is provided in the room for this.

Our Vision for 2030 sets out four priorities which we hope together will help people have the best start in life, live well in caring, compassionate communities, and make it easier for people to live physically and emotionally healthy lives. The list of priorities is not exhaustive, but it provides focus to establish the right foundations for everyone’s health and wellbeing over the next few years.

Our four priorities

We have set out four priorities that will improve the health and wellbeing of all residents and reduce health inequalities. Expand the sections below to read a summary of each priority.

Ensure that children and young people are healthy and ready for learning and education

We will:

  • Strengthen family resilience to ensure the best start in life
  • Improve timely access to appropriate family and wellbeing support
  • Reduce the existing educational attainment gap for children and young people
  • Ensure services for children and young people who need support for emotional health and wellbeing, from early help to statutory support services, are needs-led and tailored to respond and provide appropriate care and support

Improve skills, good work, and employment

We will:

  • Work with education providers and other partners to provide robust and inclusive pathways into work, including for disadvantaged young people
  • Work with local employers to encourage, incentivise, and promote good quality work
  • Support the development of and access to an inclusive labour market, focusing on engaging our populations most at risk of inequalities in accessing and maintaining good work
  • Prioritise inclusiveness and social value as employers, purchasers, and investors in the local economy

Strengthen compassionate and healthy communities

We will:

  • Continue to develop the infrastructure that encourages and enables individuals, organisations, and networks to work together in an inclusive way, with the shared aim of supporting people in need and building strong local communities
  • Enable and encourage proactive engagement in health promoting activity at all ages for good quality of life
  • Develop a strategic approach to social prescribing to enable people to remain healthy and manage physical and mental health conditions

Create health promoting places

We will:

  • Utilise the Local Plan as an opportunity to shape, promote, and deliver healthy and sustainable places and reduce inequalities
  • Improve take up of low carbon affordable warmth support for private housing, and encourage B&NES social housing providers to provide low carbon, affordable warmth for existing social housing to help prevent damp, mould, and cold-related illnesses
  • Maximise opportunities in legislation to facilitate a targeted private rented sector inspection programme to ensure the minimum statutory housing and energy efficiency standards are met
  • Improve access to physical and mental health services and interventions for all ages via the development of Integrated Neighbourhood Teams (INTs), community-based services, and our specialist centres
  • Work with the NHS, local authority, voluntary and community sector, and other partners to increasingly embed prevention and inequalities action into their planning and prioritisation

Our principles that underpin all that we do

In order for our strategy to be a success and make the difference we hope that it will, partnerships and organisations leading the implementation of the strategy will seek to incorporate the following principles in their work delivering on the priorities:

  • Tackle inequalities
  • Adapt and build resilience to climate change
  • Share responsibility and engage for change
  • Deliver for all life stages

How we will know if we are making a difference

We are developing a set of indicators which will help us over time see if we are on the right track. The Health and Wellbeing Board will receive updates on actions taken by partners of the Health and Wellbeing Board to deliver on the strategy. These meetings are public and you can attend to find out more. Find out more about our meetings, including dates and times.

Documents

Last updated 20 November 2025

Virtual School Pupil Premium Policy

Policy

Virtual School Pupil Premium Policy

This document shows the Bath & North East Somerset Virtual School's Pupil Premium Policy.

  • Published date: 19 April 2023
  • Last updated: 02 September 2025

Details

Pupil Premium Plus is funding to help improve the education of looked-after children and previously looked-after children. The funding is allocated directly to the local authority and managed by the Virtual School Head. We then issue this funding to schools.

To learn more about the funding, view our Pupil Premium Plus page

Documents

Last updated 02 September 2025

Public Health England campaign resource centre

Policy

Public Health England campaign resource centre

A set of Public Health campaign resources.

  • Published date: 13 April 2023
  • Last updated: 10 August 2023

Documents

Last updated 10 August 2023

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